Chapter 20 Section 20

Zigong was released as he wished, but I can no longer see him. I only heard from Uncle Wang Weng Ji that he got the reward he deserved.At the same time, as expected, his reputation took a devastating blow.After that, he went to Changyi County, intending to use the money he got to bribe the prefect, so that the prefect tried to send him to Chang'an as a county scholar recommended by Shanyang County, but this time the prefect sternly said: Rejected him, it is said that he did not dare to take the risk.As a person who escaped by reporting on his biological mother, Zigong has already gained a reputation, and he does not meet the standards of a scholar.Based on his conduct, he would never want to take the official path of "reporting" in this life.He can only think of other ideas.

But Zigong's good luck came.Soon the imperial court's new imperial edict arrived, asking the prefectures to recommend people to enter the Taixue. If they want to go to the capital to learn Buddhist scriptures, they can also go with the officials at the end of the year.It is said that he immediately went to the county court to sign up and demanded to respond to the edict.The official in charge had no choice but to agree to his request this time. The son's mother, Li Zhongfu, was taken to Chang'an. One can imagine the ending.On the day of departure in the car she was riding in, I secretly went to see her off.I saw her with disheveled gray hair, sitting cross-legged in the wooden prison cart, her expression was very peaceful.Many people gathered around the prison car to watch.I didn't see Zigong, only Chen Hei clinging to her prison car and crying loudly. The county officials took great pains to break Chen Hei's hand away.Li Zhongfu saw me in the crowd, nodded slightly to me, and smiled, his expression very indifferent.I sighed secretly and withdrew from the crowd.

The most unlucky ones were the group of people who helped the son escape from the prison. They were all sentenced to be banished to Yuzezhang, Dunhuang County, and took on the task of guarding the pavilion as ex-prisoners. The day they were escorted on the road was also the day I set off.My husband and father-in-law are going to serve in You Fufeng in Chang'an. This is a temporary request. I was going to transfer him to be the prefect of Yuzhang, but because Li Zhongfu was arrested, the court made an exception and promoted you to You Fufeng, with a rank of 2,000 stone.Zuowei from Xiaqiu County was in charge of escorting the guards. Since my father-in-law's family was going to Chang'an, they happened to go with these guards.Every year, there are some ceremonies for the county residents who are dispatched to the frontier to go on the road. Many people are crying and crying all the way.I didn't care about it in previous years, but this year I feel very sad.Because in fact, like them, I am going to stay away from my parents and go to the distant Guanzhong.

When we parted, my mother and I cried together, I cried heartbreakingly, and so did my mother.She is my only daughter, and she will be very lonely after I leave.Although I have a younger brother, it was born to my father's concubine, and I couldn't get close to her.My father also seemed a little sad, and kept silent. I hated him so much, but seeing his pitiful appearance, I couldn't hate him anymore.Maybe he is really doing it for my own good. After all, he is my father, so why would he harm me. The crowd set off, and through the black curtain of the car, I looked at the guards who were staggering around. The treatment of exiled prisoners and ordinary guards was different.Ordinary garrison soldiers are only garrisoned for one year, but these banished people do not have such a good fate. They may only stay at the border for the rest of their lives, marrying wives and having children until they die of old age.

The road in Chang'an is long, and there are countless bumps along the way. My pregnancy reaction is very severe, and I often vomit all the way in the car.My aunt, the mother of my husband, is quite happy. Although she is an elder, she does not have the majestic attitude that an ordinary aunt treats her daughter-in-law at all. She always comforts me gently, which made me feel anxious The thought of shame, the child in my stomach belongs to my son-in-law, but they don't know it at all.I never had the thought of blaming myself before, because I thought it was not my fault.But now I realize that I was wrong, at least the Wang family is innocent, and my father is the guilty one.It's just that I must keep this secret firmly now. With Wang Wengji's current official position, if he knows the truth, crushing my father to death is like crushing an ant.I usually fall asleep as soon as I touch the pillow, but now this desperate need to keep the secret is making me sleepless at night.We have been spending the night in the official biography house and post box along the way, so that I can get a good rest.But I just can't sleep.I hope they treat me a little bit worse, then I can sleep with peace of mind.

Of course, compared to those miserable people who were banished, I was much better off, especially those seven or eight monkeys who were sentenced to banished because they wanted to usurp their sons.Speaking of which, they and I are both Zigong's victims.Sometimes it really surprises me why Zigong has such a great charm, and I and these people would be willing to make sacrifices for him.Do I regret it?Possibly a little bit, but not sure after all.They did not repent.One day, our team was going to pass through the bird path of Taihang Mountain——Jingxing, and I had a brief conversation with them by the way.

It was in Shiyi County, Jingxingkou. We rested halfway, and those prisoners were also eating dry food under the tree. Because they were neighbors after all, I went up and said: "You children, you are so ignorant that you dare to go to prison , do you regret it now?" "What do you regret, you have to do this as a human being, keep your promises and be loyal, otherwise you might as well die." One of them opened his big mouth, took a bite of dry food, and said vaguely. "If Zigong is kind to us, we should treat him well. There is no need to explain this truth." Another said.

I feel that I have a feeling that I have not loved the wrong person, and my heart is warm. "Then now, by reporting on his mother, he was not only released from prison, but also got a reward, but you were exiled instead. Don't you feel wronged?" They laughed and said, "No injustice. Zigong must have his reasons for doing that. Everything he does has a reason." It's really blind worship, I have nothing to say, I can only look at the blue sky in a daze, and the shadow of Zigong keeps flashing in my heart.It wasn't until my husband woke me up that I got into the car and entered Jingxing Canyon.

Taihang Mountain is so steep that there are only eight roads running across it, and Jingxing is one of them.I had only heard about its dangers from mailmen before, and I didn't know what I heard was true until I saw it with my own eyes. It was early in the morning, and the weeds on both sides of the road were still full of dew. Our carriage slowly drove into Jingxing, just like a solar eclipse, and the light suddenly dimmed.Looking up, the blue sky is still bright, but there is only a thin line.There are cliffs on both sides, and even geckos can't climb it.On our right there is a river, I don't know its name, the water is very clear.Wherever the river meanders, the path extends.The more I go in, the narrower the path becomes, which makes me feel thrilling.

Auntie and I were in the same car, and said to me in a rambling manner: "I have walked this road twice. Eight years ago, that is, the third year of Shenjue, the prefect of the county east of your uncle, Cao Shibu Sanfu The magistrate of Yunyang County entered the customs together with the former governor of the East County, Han Yanshou, and he was very happy. At that time, Han was just promoted to Zuo Fengyi, and he abandoned the city due to crimes within two years. Your uncle, as Han Yanshou’s old After being implicated, he was relegated to Donghai County Gong Cao Shi, and was promoted to Xiaqiu County Magistrate a few years later. This time, he was promoted to You Fufeng, which I never thought of. They said you have Wangfu's life, and God really protects me The Wang family..."

I couldn't ignore her rambling, I could only listen with a smile on my face, my face was sour, and she didn't have the slightest intention to stop until the driver stopped the carriage. "Why did you stop?" She finally let me go and lifted the car curtain. The driver said: "Qi Madam, the mountain wall in front has collapsed and blocked the road. We happened to have reached the narrowest part of Jingxing again. I'm afraid it will take a few days to repair the road." The narrowest place in Jingxing originally only allowed two cars to pass side by side. I saw the motorcade in front of me making noise, people coming and going, and the bird path was full of gravel.But no signs of collapse were seen. The driver explained: "The road has collapsed for many days, and the vehicles and horses passing by a few days ago have been blocked here." Obviously, there are many cars and horses parked in front of us, and we can't see the front.Fortunately, they are all sparse and not crowded.Otherwise, I would feel suffocated under this cliff of sky. On the other side of the pass, the county magistrate of Shangai County conscripted a lot of people and is rushing to repair the passage.For a while, on the narrow passage, county officials in red uniforms and common people in white sackcloth came and went.